Apple Byte: A peek into Apple's future

Apple Byte: A peek into Apple's future

4:08 /
February 5, 2010

New hints at what we'll see in 2010, we'll break down VMware Fusion 3 vs. Parallels Desktop 5, and video recording comes to first-gen iPhones and the iPhone 3G.

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>> Brian Tong: What's up? I'm Brian Tong, and welcome to the Apple Byte. We're giving you all the good and bad stuff inside the world of Apple, so let's get to it. Now, this week, we have a peek at a few things we'll be seeing from Apple in the future. Chinese site PC Online recently detailed the specs for Intel's upcoming Golftown 64 Processor, and you can bet they'll be used in the next Mac Pros. I didn't translate this site, but thankfully, our Mac did, and the processor will hit speeds of 3.33 gigahertz with a dual-configured Mac Pro Rocking 12 cords. The processors are expected to arrive around March 2010. So we can probably expect a Mac Pro refresh around that time. Now, in iPhone and iPod Touch news, Toshiba announced it will now be able to offer 64 gigs on a single memory module and will start producing them in the first quarter of 2010. Currently, the iPhone maxes out at 32 gigs and the iPod Touch at 64 gigs because the iPhone can only hold a single flash chip while the Touch can hold two. Toshiba is the main supplier for the iPhone storage, and it's a sure thing we'll be seeing 64 gig iPhones and 128 gig iPod Touches in the future as well. Now, the big [inaudible] is also looking to bring back the focus on web-based apps. Some of you may not realize that before the App Store, there were only web apps. Apple has deployed a web framework that will now allow web apps to be completely hide [fairy music] the Safari address bar and allow for a fixed position toolbar that doesn't move when you scroll. Now, neither of these were possible before, and with web browser technologies continuing to evolve and cellular data speeds increasing as well, free web-based apps are a welcome addition, and the best part, they won't fall under the App Store's wishy-washy rules. Alright. Now a lot of you have asked about running Windows with the Mac OS at the same time. So we're giving you a look at Viaware Fusion Three and Parallels Desktop Five. Which one is better? [heavenly music] We like to call it the eye of the beholder. [music] When running any virtualization software, speed is the key. You'll never really get the same experience as running this on a PC, but Parallels comes out on top. You can really feel that using Windows is a lot snappier in all the different view modes, and it also starts up and shuts down faster than VMware. Now, both apps give you the ability to run Windows in a full screen in its own window and side by side. Parallels also offers a few others like crystal mode, where you can basically work in Windows but it feels like you're in the Mac OS, and modality mode which allows you to still run Windows but shrink it down so it's out of the way but still running tasks in the background like installations. Now, most people will be working full screen or side by side, and again, the performance and overall feel of Parallels gives it the edge here. Parallels also gives you more settings and configurable options to tweak over VMware Fusion when it comes down to devices and system settings. But at the end of the day, it's all about speed. Both programs will let you run Windows, but if you want the best performance to get Parallels. Now, Parallels Desktop Five costs $79.99. They also offer a switch to Mac edition for $99.99. That gives you a USB cable to migrate your PC data and also offers some cool hand-holding switch to Mac video tutorials. The VMware Fusion Three costs $79.99 with no other available versions. So hopefully that helps you guys out. Alright. Let's check out a few quick bites. I told you last week to download Chrome, and well, it looks like a lot of you did. Net Applications reports Chrome has snagged the third-place spot in the browser market share war pushing Safari to fourth and is now behind Internet Explorer and Firefox. It happened soon after the Mac Beta Chrome release. So what can you say? Speed kills, and Chrome is a fast one. Also first-gen iPhone and iPhone 3G users might want to check out iVideo Camera for 99 cents. It finally allows you guys to record video using your phone's camera, and sure, it's only three frames per second, and your videos will look like stop-motion photography, but hey, it's a start, and the developer is looking to improve it. Alright. That's going to do it for this week's show. Send me your e-mails to the Apple Byte at CNET.com. I'm Brian Tong. Thanks for watching, and come back next time for another Byte of the Apple.
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